--- description: Michel Platini is the latest soccer official to be drawn into the Swiss authorities' investigation of FIFA title: FIFA Presidential Hopeful Platini Linked to Graft Probe image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6997912798ccbd0f/698866228e0601e69c4629d0/481897874.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Soccer](/tag/soccer/) ## Soccer Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # FIFA Presidential Candidate Michel Platini Questioned in Widening Corruption Probe by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 30, 2015 4:12 AM CUT  President of UEFA Michel Platini attends the Preliminary Draw of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia at The Konstantin Palace on July 25, 2015 in Saint Petersburg, Russia President of UEFA Michel Platini attends the Preliminary Draw of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia at The Konstantin Palace on July 25, 2015 in Saint Petersburg, RussiaShaun Botterill—2015 Getty Images by [Joanna Plucinska](/author/joanna-plucinska/) ## Joanna Plucinska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 30, 2015 4:12 AM CUT Michel Platini, the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), is the latest top soccer official to be [drawn](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34396551 "undefined") into the Swiss authorities’ investigation of the sport’s world governing body FIFA. Outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter is accused of making a $2 million payment to Platini in 2011, only two months before Blatter ran for re-election for the organization’s top job, the [BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34396551 "undefined") reports. Blatter is currently being [investigated](http://time.com/4050058/criminal-case-fifa-president-sepp-blatter/ "undefined") over alleged corruption. Platini, a former star of the French national team, is currently campaigning to replace Blatter as FIFA president and has vehemently denied that the payment was illicit. He says it was compensation for his time as a special adviser to FIFA between 1998 and 2002, [Agence France-Presse](http://www.afp.com/en/news/platini-stay-fifa-race-despite-new-inquiry "undefined") (AFP) reports. “At the time, FIFA informed me that they would not be able to pay me the total agreed amount,” [Platini](http://news.sky.com/story/1561199/michel-platini-fifa-could-not-pay-me-on-time "undefined") told AFP, explaining why he received the payment almost a decade later. The 60-year-old said he was questioned as a witness last week and has willingly cooperated with the investigation. Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber framed Platini’s involvement slightly differently, however. “We investigated against him in between as a witness and an accused person,” Lauber told reporters, [adding](http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/sep/29/uefa-michel-platini-fifa-sepp-blatter "undefined") that he would be willing to raid Platini’s UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, if necessary. “I will do anything, if I can do something, to clear up what’s the real truth. And if I have enough elements to go there, I could not exclude that I also have to go there,” Lauber [said](http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/sep/29/uefa-michel-platini-fifa-sepp-blatter "undefined"). Meanwhile, controversial Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona has weighed in on the FIFA scandal, [labeling](http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-09/30/c%5F134674661.htm "undefined") Blatter “corrupt” and Platini “a liar,” reports Chinese state news wire Xinhua. [Platini](http://time.com/3965344/fifa-election-michel-platini-support-uefa/ "undefined") assured reporters that he is [“calm and totally serene”](http://www.afp.com/en/news/platini-stay-fifa-race-despite-new-inquiry "undefined") in his quest for the top FIFA spot despite the ongoing investigation. \[[_AFP_](http://www.afp.com/en/news/platini-stay-fifa-race-despite-new-inquiry "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4055172/michel-platini-uefa-fifa-investigation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4055172/michel-platini-uefa-fifa-investigation/"},"headline":"FIFA Presidential Candidate Michel Platini Questioned in Widening Corruption Probe","datePublished":"2015-09-30T04:12:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:22:50.463Z","description":"Swiss authorities say Platini is being investigated \"in between as a witness and an accused person\"","url":"https://time.com/4055172/michel-platini-uefa-fifa-investigation/","keywords":["Soccer","corruption","Switzerland","FIFA","Sepp Blatter"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6997912798ccbd0f/698866228e0601e69c4629d0/481897874.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joanna Plucinska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joanna-plucinska/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6997912798ccbd0f/698866228e0601e69c4629d0/481897874.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"481897874","caption":"attends the Preliminary Draw of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia at The Konstantin Palace on July 25, 2015 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.","creditText":"Shaun Botterill—2015 Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/soccer/","name":"Soccer"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4055172/michel-platini-uefa-fifa-investigation/","name":"FIFA Presidential Candidate Michel Platini Questioned in Widening Corruption Probe"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"FIFA 16 Trailer - Women's National Teams are IN THE GAME","description":"EA Sports is bringing women into the game because for the first time ever FIFA will feature women soccer players in its hugely popular video game series.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Q7PVqtY3/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-05-29T03:45:17.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Q7PVqtY3.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4055172/michel-platini-uefa-fifa-investigation/","duration":"PT1M17S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4055172/michel-platini-uefa-fifa-investigation/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```